House passes funding bill to avoid government shutdown

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House, led by a tight Republican majority, signed off Tuesday on a bill that would provide funding for the federal government through September and avoid a shutdown later this week.

But with most Democrats opposed and 60 votes needed in the Senate to avoid a filibuster, it is unclear if the measure has the support needed in that chamber to pass.

The House vote, 217-213, was largely along party lines. All but one Republican voted in favor; all but one Democrat voted against. Georgia’s delegation split strictly along party lines with all nine Republicans voting “yes” and five Democrats “no.”

Republicans, even hard-right conservatives who have opposed similar continuing resolutions in the past, said they support the funding package backed by both House Speaker Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump.

That number included U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens, who said his tune has changed because this continuing resolution boosts funding in certain areas, like defense and immigration enforcement, while requiring funding cuts for other types of non defense spending. He also noted that the bill would allow the White House more flexibility to further reduce spending through Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, initiative led by Elon Musk.

“This will allow President Trump and his administration to continue delivering wins for the American people, including DOGE exposing and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse,” Clyde wrote on social media. “Plus, President Trump has the constitutional power of impoundment — meaning he doesn’t have to spend every dollar that Congress appropriates.”

U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee, also supported the bill despite indicating on Monday that he was a “lean no.”

After the vote, McCormick said he was not a fan of the stopgap funding legislation that he felt did not go far enough to addressing the national debt. But he said there were no alternatives.

“We don’t have a better option right now because we have one bill on the floor, and because we didn’t do the right thing,” he said. “We didn’t come up with a Republican bill. This is a Democrat carryover, this is COVID-level spending and we are $36 trillion in debt.”

Republicans have said Democrats who vote against the bill are hoping to force a government shutdown that would shutter agencies and force essential employees to work without pay.

The measure now moves to the Senate for a vote later this week. To avoid a filibuster, at least eight Democrats will need to vote with Republicans who support the bill.

Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff has not said where he stands on the legislation. His counterpart and fellow Atlanta Democrat, Sen. Raphael Warnock, said the bill is bad for veterans and those who rely on the government for health care, among other vulnerable populations.

Warnock waved off concerns that Senate Democrats will be blamed if the bill ultimately fails and a shutdown occurs. He said Republicans never came to the table to try to build bipartisan support.

“We are witnessing a president who is running roughshod over this coequal branch of government, and this bill advances that project,” Warnock said. “It gives them maximum flexibility to continue this project that we’re seeing and create havoc in my state for federal workers and for families, for our health care, for public health and for public education. And that’s their project; it’s not mine.”